B. Eligibility - Participants must not have attained age 15 prior to September 1 of current school year. To participate in the M.C.A.L. a student must be a resident in the town in which they wish to play and/or attending member school.

C. Practice - Practice may begin on the second Monday in March.

D. Rules - Standard rules (Federation) of play will be utilized. *Exceptions to these rules will be listed below. Sneakers or all purpose rubber cleats may be worn by all participants. Metal cleats or spikes cannot be worn. Home field rules will be explained prior to the start of the game to both the officials and the visiting coach. The schedule will consist of one game with each school. Additional games may be played through special arrangement, but will not apply to the trophy or championship.

E. Time Limit - All games should start as close to 3:30 p.m. as possible and consist of seven innings, when possible. No inning may be started after 5:45 p.m., and four and one-half or 5 innings will be considered a complete game. The two-hour rule must be used in all games.* Umpires should keep the time on the field. The visiting team should confirm the game by 1:00 p.m. on the day of the game. *This means if a game starts at 3:30 you may not start an inning after 5:30 - a game that starts at 3:45 ends with no inning after 5:45.

F. The home team will be assigned two qualified officials. Games should be canceled only with administrative approval. The league director must be notified of make-up date.

G. Trophies -In order to win a trophy you must have at least a .500 record within your division. A maximum of three trophies will be awarded in each division. In case of a tie for the 3rd trophy, the team with the better overall record will receive third place. Division games only will count towards league standings. All baseball/softball games will be scored as follows:

Win - 2 points Tie - 1 point Loss - 0 points

To qualify as overall league champion all league games must be played. Forfeits count as a played game. All forfeits must be reported to the League Office in writing by the team receiving the win.

H. Disqualification Procedure - All players ejected from a game will receive an automatic 1 game suspension, which will be served in the next game. A second ejection in a season will result in a 2 game suspension. Coaches must report an ejection to their administrator within 24 hours of the incident. An incident report form must be filed with the league within 3 days. (See Disqualification procedures for players & coaches)

I. Reporting Scores - All scores should be reported the next day by both teams. Call the league director at 732-458-9554 or E-mail score.

J. Team rosters must be submitted to the M.C.A.L. Director prior to the first game.

Softball -

Cleats

Metal cleats may not be used in baseball or softball. Any player found using metal cleats will immediately be removed from the game and may not re-enter that game at any time.

BATTING HELMET

Starting with the 2006 season, all players will be required to wear helmets with a face guard/face mask. There will be no exceptions. The helmet should be worn on the bases.

Mound

-In softball, the measurement from the pitcher's mound to the back of home plate should be 40'6". Home field coaches should try to have the mound anchored to the ground.

Ball -A dudley softball, or its equivalent should be used. Clinchers should not be used. The color of the ball may be white or yellow.

Runners - Bunting and stealing are permitted. The runner may not leave the base until the ball reaches home plate. Runners who leave early will be called out. There is running on the third strike. The "speed-up rule" is to be used for catchers only; catchers must come off the bases with two outs and be replaced by someone who has not played in the game. The 15/10 run rule* is in effect for all league games. The 10 run stealing rule* is in effect for all league games.

Pitchers - National Federation Rules prevail.

D.H. Rule - The D.H. rule is optional; however, the team can only bat ten players, and the designated hitter will take the place of someone in the field who will not hit.

Short Fielder - The short fielder must be positioned behind second base (must be behind the bag) if in the infield, or anyplace in the outfield.

Substitutions - Any started who is substituted for, may re-enter the game, but must re-enter in the same position in the batting order of the original starting line-up. Any member of the team may re-enter the game at anytime, but it must be in the same batting slot. Pitchers may re-enter as pitchers.

15/10 run rule*

A TEAM THAT IS AHEAD BY 15 RUNS AFTER THREE COMPLETE INNINGS OF PLAY WINS THE GAME.

DURING THE FOURTH INNING IF EITHER TEAM GETS TO 15 RUNS AHEAD, THE GAME ENDS IMMEDIATELY.

IN THE FIFTH INNING THE VISITORS WILL BAT UNLESS THE 15 RUN RULE IS ACTIVATED. THEN THE HOME TEAM BATS. IF THE HOME TEAM IS WINNING BY 10 RUNS OR MORE, THEY WILL NOT BAT IN THE FIFTH INNING. THE GAME ENDS. ALSO, IF THE HOME TEAM IS BATING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING AND THEY GET TO 10 RUNS AHEAD THE GAME IS STOPPED IMMEDIATELY.

IN THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH INNING THE GAME ENDS IMMEDIATELY WHEN EITHER TEAM REACHES A 10 RUN LEAD.

10 run stealing rule*

WHEN EITHER TEAM REACHES A 10 RUN LEAD, NEITHER TEAM MAY STEAL A BASE. IF THE SCORE DROPS BELOW A 10 RUN DIFFERENCE, EITHER TEAM MAY BEGIN STEALING AGAIN. IF A RUNNER STEAL A BASE AT 10 RUNS OR MORE THEY SHOULD BE SENT BACK TO THE BASE THEY WERE AT. THEY ARE NOT TO BE CALLED OUT.

Designated runner*

WE DO NOT HAVE A PROVISION FOR A DESIGNATED RUNNER.

THE LEAGUE RULE STATES:

Any starter who is substituted for, may re-enter the game, but must re-enter in the same position in the batting order of the original starting line-up. Any member of the team may re-enter the game at anytime, but it must be in the same batting slot. Pitchers may re-enter as pitchers. All other rules will be National Federation rules.

CLARIFICATION: THIS MEANS IF YOU USE A PINCH RUNNER FOR ANYONE, THAT IS THE ONLY PERSON THEY CAN RUN FOR THE REST OF THE GAME. YOU CANNOT USE THAT SAME RUNNER IN ANY OTHER SLOT IN THE LINEUP. IT ALSO MEANS THAT THE PINCH RUNNER CANNOT SUBSTITUTE FOR ANY OTHER PLAYER IN THE GAME. THEY CAN ONLY SUB FOR THE PERSON THEY RAN FOR.

Speed-up rule is for catchers only:

The "speed-up rule" is to be used for catchers only: catchers must come off the bases with two outs and be replaced by someone who has not played in the game.

National Federation rules will be used. Our league rules will override the National Federation rules as listed above.